David Lynch, one of the most beloved and influential filmmakers in the history of American cinema, has died at the age of 78. The news was confirmed on Lynch’s official Facebook page with the following statement:
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Lynch is known for films like “Eraserhead” (his feature directorial debut), “Blue Velvet,” and “Mulholland Drive,” but perhaps his best-known work is the surreal, atmospheric murder mystery series “Twin Peaks,” which ran for two seasons in the early ’90s, received a prequel story in the feature film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” and was more recently revived for a final 18-episode stretch in “Twin Peaks: The Return.”
Outside of his work in film and television, Lynch’s creativity also extended to visual arts and music. He was a particular favorite among cinephiles for his deadpan humor and warm-hearted personality.
David Lynch captured dreams (and nightmares) on film
David Lynch mastered ‘dream logic’ like few other filmmakers have. Though surreal and strange, his works feel cohesive rather than simply random, with strong ideas underlying them. His first masterpiece, “Eraserhead,” tells the story of a man whose girlfriend gives birth to an inhuman creature that becomes progressively more sickly despite his efforts to care for it. The film is most commonly interpreted as an allegory for anxieties about fatherhood, especially given that it was made in the wake of Lynch becoming a father for the first time in his early 20s. For his part, Lynch is happy to let people make of it what they will — as evidenced by this famous exchange from a 2007 interview with Jason Barlow for BAFTA:
DL: Believe it or not, “Eraserhead” is my most spiritual film.
JB: Elaborate on that.
DL: No, I won’t. [Laughter]
In Lynch’s biography “Room to Dream,” written by Kristine McKenna and based on interviews with Lynch and his friends and collaborators, the director did share some insight into his dream-to-film pipeline. “An important piece of the ‘Blue Velvet’ script came to me in a dream,” he recalled. But he couldn’t remember the dream for a while after waking up, and ended up noting the two things he remembered — “a police radio and a gun” — while sitting in a secretary’s room at Universal Studios, waiting to be called in for a meeting.
“I always say I don’t go by nighttime dreams because it’s daydreaming that I like,” said Lynch. “I love the logic of dreams, though. Anything can happen and it makes sense.”
Lynch believed in creative control above all else
While some creatives’ off-screen behavior forces their fans to try and separate art from the artist, David Lynch’s extra-curricular antics only enhanced enjoyment of his commercial works. The end of his Facebook eulogy is a nod to one of the ways that he embraced the YouTube age: with sporadic weather reports that often strayed into non-weather related musings. Defying traditional meteorology formats, Lynch told his viewers: “No matter what the weather is, I wish for all of you blue skies and golden sunshine internally all along the way.”
The filmmaker was a presence in front of the camera as well as behind it. In “Twin Peaks,” Lynch had a recurring role as Gordon Cole, protagonist Dale Cooper’s boss at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Meanwhile, his final onscreen performance was as legendary Hollywood director John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans.” He was encouraged to do the cameo by his friend and regular collaborator Laura Dern. (“She thought that it would be very enjoyable, and it turned out to be very enjoyable,” Lynch once explained.)
His professional relationship with Dern also led to one of Lynch’s most creative publicity stunts. In lieu of a traditional (and expensive) awards season ‘For Your Consideration’ campaign, he promoted Dern’s performance in his film “Inland Empire” by going on a promotional tour with a banner and a cow. When asked about the relevance of the cow (whose name was Georgia), Lynch explained, “Without cheese, there wouldn’t be an ‘Inland Empire.'” He further elaborated: “Cheese is made from milk.”
Widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s truest auteur directors, Lynch mainly stuck to making independent films with smaller budgets — particularly after a painful experience with 1984’s “Dune,” where his contract didn’t include final cut rights. He identified that movie as the failure he’d learned most from in an interview with NPR, saying there’s “no way” he would ever make a movie without putting final cut privilege in his contract again. After all…
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